Buehler (R) is an orthopedic surgeon and Rhodes scholar from Bend. He was the only candidate to file from his party in the primary. According to race ratings published in Governing in September, the Buehler's candidacy threatened the Democratic Party's almost 20 year run in the office. They rated the secretary of state race as a toss-up, due to Buehler's fundraising prowess (he raised and spent twice as much as Brown) and to his cross nomination by the Independent Party, which has the highest registered membership of any third party in Oregon.[4]

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

**Although not shown in table above, Poll#3 also included the option for respondents to indicate support for a minor party candidate in the race. The results show the three minor party candidates are each supported by 1% of voters.**

Endorsements

Buehler

In July, 2012, Buehler's campaign received a significant boost when the Independent Party voted 55-45% to endorse the Republican candidate over the Democratic incumbent, Brown. Under Oregon’s fusion-voting law, the GOP nominee for secretary of state is also permitted to list the Independent party's cross-nomination on the general election ballot.[6] It was thought that the Independent Party's support could be crucial to Buehler's chances of scoring an upset victory in November. There are roughly 76,000 registered Independent voters in Oregon--the highest number for a third party--and over 420,000 unaffiliated voters, many of whom choose not to be registered with a party as a form of protest against the restriction of freedoms imposed by traditional power structures and will likely be more sympathetic to a candidate with "independent," next to his name. Correspondingly, a large share of unaffiliated voters are reportedly unaware of the distinction between a candidate who is running "independently" of a party and a candidate running in affiliation with the Independent Party.[7]

Due dates for reports

The Secretary of State administers campaign finance law and maintains all records online.

As of 2007, there are no longer "scheduled" reporting deadlines. Committees will continuously report campaign finance transactions.

In mid-September, Brown announced that she was placing a $1 million spending cap on her re-election campaign this year. Her opponent, Buehler, who reportedy raised nearly $1 million and spent about $542,000 at that point in the election season, said he would not follow suit, and suggested that Brown's adoption of a spending limit was a reaction to concerns about trailing Buehler in fundraising (Brown has raised $575,000 and spent about $264,000 as of September 19th) and staff shake ups, including the then-recent firing of her campaign finance manager. Brown denied his accusations, saying that she had hired a replacement, and she defended the ethical merits of setting a spending limit: "I've raised more than $1 million in the past.... It's not fun and it's also not right. That's why I think it's time for us to do something about it and I'm the one in this race leading by example."[10]